Driving-gear for motor-vehicles.



E. V. VARGOE. DRIVING GEAR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.27, 1910.

1,072,797. Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W] T NESSE NTOR lforrze s n w W u/ APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27, 1910.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR m M Allorneys E. V. VARGOE.

DRIVING GEAR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 27, 1910.

1,072,797. v Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES Attorney s UNITED STATES 'EARIi VERNON VARCOE, OE HON}?SIDALE,- PENNSYLVANIA.

PATENT OFFICE.

nmvmcsnnn ron moronsvnnrcnns;

Tool? whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, EARL V. VARCOE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Gnc object of the invention is to provide improved change speed mechanism for driving gear of this character, and a further object is to provide improved means for supporting the engine so as to insure the proper o eration of such mechanism. To this end, tie invention contemplatesthe mounting of gearing directly upon the-differential drum,

and the supporting of the engine in such manner that it may swing about the driving axle as a center.

With the above and other objects in view,

as will appear later, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of'parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanydrawing, in which s Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of the complete engine and driving mechanism, the section being taken substantially on the line l-I of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same. Fig; 3 IS a longitudinal-section substantially on the line 33 of. Fig. 1, parts' being shown in elevation; Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionsubstantialljy onthe line 44 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a detail hereinafter d-escribed, and Fig. 6 is aplan view of the difinders 1, l

ferential drum and associated-parts.

Referring tot'he drawingsm detail, the engine which I preferably employ is of the horizontal type, and comprises the usual'cylto piston rods 3, 3",- secured at their other ends to cross heads 4,4", and working through stuflingzboxcst, 5E1 Pitman rods 6, 6?" are connected at one end to the cross heads, and at'the opposite end to crank pins 7, 7, set into cranks securedninety degrees a art to opposite endsof the'engine shaft8'.

orkiilg on this shaft'are two pairs "of eccentrics 9, .9, connectedby rods 10-, 10., to

w valve gear links 11, 11, from which links ex- Specification of Letters Patent.

aving pistons 2, 2, connected Patented-Sept. 9, 1913'.

Application filed December 27,1910.- Serial No. 599,614. i

to sl i d i tend valve rods 12, 12

ir'he links 11, 11 v 5 point of cut-ofi byhheaiis h'f a lever 148558- cured to one end of a shaft'l5, to the other end'of which is secured crank-arm 16, from i which extendsa suitable opjerating rod; (not shown). I shaft- 8 is an eccentric-17, connected by' j'a rod 18- with' acrank arm 19, secured to ti -sleeve 20 journaledin the engine frame, and provided at its outer end with a crank arm 21,

3 to which may be attached a suitable connecting'rod (not shown) for operating the pump. I All of the mechanism so far described may be of the well known or any suitable construction.

Rigidly secured to the engine shaft mid- ;way of its length is a plurality of change ispeed gear wheels or plnions, two of such wheels22, 23, being shown by way of exam- }ple in the drawings. Arranged to mesh with these pinions 1s a second pairof pin-1 ions-24, 25, rigidly united asby means of an annular web 26, and slidably mounted upon the outside ofa cylindrical differential drum 31, one or more keys 32 being interposed-to prevent relative angular movement. These gear wheels 24 and 25 are adapted to be shifted on the differential drum into and out of mesh with thecorresponding wheels 22, 23, on the engine shaft, and to this end,

! in the annular web 26, such collar being provided atqthe top with a pin or stud 28 about which engages-a slot formed in the end of a crank arm 29 secured to a stud shaft 30, to which may be attached a suitable operating =red, (not shown), by means of which the shaft and crank arm may be rocked; It will thus be seen that, by'this arrangement, in which one set of change speed gears is directly mountedup on the difi'ere'ntial drum itself and the other set carried by the engine shaft, the construction is very much simplified, and all counter shafts, etcL, eliminated. It will also be'noted' that the gears '22, 231 on the engine shaft are located at a point substantially opposite the middle of the differential drum, so that whichever of the gears 24' or 25'is in mesh, such active gear willbe located "at. a point midway the length of' the drum, whereby the driving strains will be equalized.

The diflerential drum 31 is rotatably supportedat each end" by means of' ball bearings 33, upon a disk 34, such disk being pro- Also associated with 'the engine' disks thereby serving as bearings both for vided with a plurality of radial arms 35, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so as to constitute a spider, the extremities of such arms being rigidly united by tie rods 36. Each disk is provided with an outwardly project ing annular flange or hub 37 which is brazed or otherwise rigidly secured to a fixed sleeve. 38 which surrounds the divided driving axle 39, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. To each section of the driving axle 39 is secured a collar 40, between which and the correspon' disk 34 are arranged ball-bearings 41, suc

the live axle and the differential drum. Also secured to each section of the axle 39 is a beveled gear 42, such gears coiiperating with aplurality of idle beveled pinions 43 mounted on stud shafts 44, supported by the-,dif-

ferential drum and radia y arranged around the'axle in a well known manner. The driving mechanism above described, as well as the valve ear and associated parts of the engine, islal inclosed in a dust and oil proof casing. Such. casing comprises main and auxiliary sections designated in their entirety by reference characters 45,

-' and 46, respectively. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the main section '45 is preferably formed integral with a wall 47 which constitutes the heads of the cylin-.

casing section 46, as may be seen by referonce to Figs. 1 and '2. The halves-of these bosses are held together by means of bolts 53 (see Fig. 2) which also serve to rigidly unite the main and auxiliary sections of the casing. 1 v

The auxiliar section 46 of the casin is itself journale at each side of the di er ential drum upon the collars 37 of the spiders, half bearings being" formed in the section itself, and the other half bearings being formed by means of straps 54, bolted to the casing (see Fig; 2). It will be observed that the auxiliary section 46 is a complete closed ring, preferably cast, and serves at its upper s1de to support the stud shaft 30. v A semi-cylindrical shell, preferably formed of sheet metal, is secured to the outer end of the section 46 asclearly shown in the drawings, and serves to completely incase the differential drum and gearing, the joint 56 between the shell and auxiliary section, and the joint 57 between the main and and constituting the sole support 'tions in speed can only be produced auxiliarysections being preferably packed with felt or similar material so as to render "the entire casingoil tight and dust proof.

As .will be seenby reference to Fig. 4, the cast metal body 45 of the main section extendsonly approximately half way up, the

upper part of themain casing being formed by a removable lid or cover 58, preferably formed of sheet metal, and seating in a groove 59 on the main casing. It will be noted that by removing this cover 58, the

bolts 53- may be-loosened and removed, and

the main and'auxiliary sections thus se arated in order to 'afiordaccess to the driv ng gear forv inspection or; re airs. In practice, I prefera 'lyprovide'a sheet metal casing 1' around the cylinders and valve chest, as clearly shown in Figs. 2-and '3, in order to lessen condensation. ,The-

steam supply pipe 60 and exhaust 61 pass through this casm In practice also, I propose to fill the entlrecasmg, with oil to such depth that the crank pins and gearing may dip therein, and thus constitute asplash system; of lubrication, the differential drum being preferably provided with openings 62 (see Fig. 1) to permit the circulation of oil; j

' It will benoted that the entire engine and casing constitute one, rigid frame, ,the cas'-.-

ing entirely inclosing all operatlng parts r the engine shaft and valve gear, the entire' frame being pivotally supported about'the axle as aoenter, soas to insurethe proper relation between the gears. Atthe end of the engine frame remotefrom the axle,'I

provide a lug63, preferably spherical, to

' which any. suitable form of hanger maybe attached so as to support such endof the engine from the frame work of the vehicle.

In most steam motor vehicles, as heretofore constructed, it has been customary to permanently connect the engine shaft to the driving axle through gearing having a fixed speed ratio. In such an arrangement, varilaregulating the rapidity with which stean i .is developed in the boiler, or by manipulation of a throttle valve. As is ,well known, however, throttlingan engine results in a loss of efliciency, as does also the running of the engine under heavy loads'at low speeds' Under such conditions the steam is not used expansively. By the use of my improved change speed gearing, I'am enabled to operate the engine at normal s d when hill climbing, and thereby gam a great deal in efliciency. Moreover, by providing a low speed transmission, I am enabled to use a much smaller boiler and to reduce the time required for steaming up.

eed gears also permit the en- My'change gine to run ree at times, thereby enabling the water to be cleared out of the cylinders or the pipes prevented from freezing in collcll weather, when the vehicle is standing sti It will thus be seen that I have provided an exceedingly simple, compact and strong driving gear for steam vehicles, and it is thought that the many advantages of my invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in such matters.

I desire to have it understood that where the word axle occurs in the claims, the combination described is not limited to use in connection with an actual supporting axle, but may also be employed in connection with a divided jackshaft, or the like. It will also be understood that I may, of course, employ plain hearings in place of the ball bearing shown and described.

What I claim is 1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the usual divided axle, of a sleeve inclosing the same, a disk secured to said sleeve at each side of the point of division of aid. axle, a cylindrical, differential drum extending between and rotatably supported by said disks, change speed gears mounted on said drum, ,a driving shaft, and corresponding gears carried by said driving shaft and adapted to mesh with said first mentioned gears.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the driving axle, a differential drum arranged concentric therewith, an engine shaft parallel with the axis of saiddrum, a set of change speed gears secured to said engine shaft at a point opposite the middle of said differential drum, and a corresponding set of gears slidably mounted on said drum and movable into and out of mesh with said first mentioned set, the arrangement being such that the active gear of said second set is always located at a substantially midway the length 0 the drum, whereby the driving strains are equalized.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the driving axle, of a differential drum associated therewith a gear wheel carried by said drum, an engine shaft, a second gear wheel carried by said engine shaft and adapted to mesh with the first mentioned wheel, engine cylinders and a closed casing rigidly secured to said cylinders and exoint tending therefrom to and around the axle adjacent said differential drum, andaframe formed integral with such casing and constituting the sole support for the engine shaft and associated parts.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the driving axle, of a fixed sleeve inclosing the same, a differential drum rotatably supported by said sleeve, a gear wheel carried by said drum, an engine having a shaft, a second gear wheel carried by said engine shaft, and adapted to mesh with said first mentioned gear, a casing wholly inelosing said gearing and forming the sole support for the engine shaft, said casing comprising main and auxiliary sections united on a line passing through the engine shaft, said main section being rigid with the cylinder heads of the engine, and said auxiliary section being rotatably supported by said fixed sleeve, whereby said engine and easing may swing about said sleeve as a center.

5. In a. motor vehicle, the combination with the usual divided axle, of a differentialdrum mounted thereon, a set of change speed gears mounted on said drum, an en- .gine comprisin a pair of cylinders spaced apart, pistons in said cylinders, an engine shaft disposed .parallel with said divided axle, a pair of spaced hearings in which said shaft is journaled, a crank carried by each end of said shaft outside of said bearings, and connected with one of said pistons, said axle, shaft, and cylinders all lying in substantially the same horizontal plane, a second set of change speed gears mounted on said shaft, means for shifting the gears of one of said sets into and out of mesh with the gears of the other, the two active gears always lying in a vertical plane passing substantially midway between the engine cylinders and between the said pair of bearings, whereby the driving strains are equalized.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

EARL VERNON VARCOE.

Witnesses:

EMERSON W. GAMMELL, M. LEE BRANMANN. 

